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Children and Pump Therapy

We're dedicated to creating medical devices to help you and your child better manage diabetes.

Your Child and Pump Therapy

Whether your child was just diagnosed with diabetes or has been managing it for some time, Medtronic is the right place to turn for help. Over 250,000 families who have children with diabetes count on Medtronic and our diabetes products to secure their child's long-term health. In concert with your healthcare professional, we are committed to providing the best products, service, and support for you and your family.

How can Medtronic Products Help My Child?

It is likely that you and your child regularly seek information that will help you best manage his or her diabetes. While many options are available to children with diabetes, the Medtronic insulin pumps deliver precise, timely insulin doses 24/7, similar to the way a healthy pancreas delivers basal and bolus insulin.

What is an Insulin Pump?

Like a pancreas, an insulin pump continuously delivers tiny doses of insulin to your child's body, and it replaces the need to give routine insulin injections with syringes or pens. Insulin pumps are not implanted in your child's body. They are small enough to fit in a pocket or on your child's waistband.

Is My Child Right for Insulin Pump Therapy?

From infants to teenagers, thousands of families every year discover that insulin pump therapy is a better way to manage their child’s diabetes.

Pump Compatibility Quiz (True or False)

How do you know whether your child is right for pump therapy? Take the following quiz and talk with your healthcare professional about the results.

Do you have basic familiarity with diabetes (i.e. what insulin does, what blood sugar levels should be, what hypoglycemia and DKA are and how to treat these problems if they arise)?

Do you and your child regularly monitor blood sugar levels?

Do you or your child have some level of knowledge about carbohydrate counting?

Do you or your child have some level of knowledge about carbohydrate counting?

Do you or your child know how to use basic electronics like video games?

Are you and your child motivated to achieve better control of your child's diabetes and A1C?

Is the family supportive of better diabetes control?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, you may want to consider insulin pump therapy. Talk to your doctor or sign up for a free information class in your area.

I Have Concerns About Putting My Child on a Pump. What’s the Truth?

Top 10 myths and realities about Insulin Pump Therapy.

Myth: My child is too active to have something like an insulin pump attached to them all the time.Reality: With a sturdy design and the ability to be tightly secured to the body or even detached, insulin pumps allow your child to participate in the physical activities they enjoy. In fact, because you can easily stop insulin delivery before your child begins exercising—something you can’t do with basal injections—your child will have greater flexibility and greater protection from dangerous lows when they’re active.

Myth: If my child wears a pump, everyone will immediately know they have diabetes.Reality: Insulin pumps are small devices, and wearing a pump is very discreet. Your child can even completely hide their insulin pump by wearing it underneath their clothes.

Myth: Wearing an insulin pump would be too painful for my child.Reality: The infusion site for your child’s pump should cause them no pain, and it usually doesn’t take long for pump users to get used to wearing their device. In fact, most even forget they’re wearing it until they need to deliver a bolus of insulin. What you and your child will notice, though, is the dramatic reduction in needlesticks—from 3 to 4 daily with injections, to only one every 2-3 days with a pump.

Myth: My child’s coaches won’t even let them wear jewelry so I shouldn’t consider a pump.Reality: Many athletes report better performance after going on a pump and their lifestyle becomes much easier to live with. For contact sports, your child may disconnect the pump for games and practices for up to one hour – talk to your doctor if you would like to keep the pump disconnected longer. Your child may need a snack with a small bolus before the game—your diabetes clinician will help you and your child determine the right routine to keep blood sugars stable while they enjoy sports!

Myth: My child can’t swim if they’re on a pump.Reality: Disconnecting from the pump while swimming for up to an hour is normal. Just make sure to monitor your child’s blood sugars while disconnected from the pump.

Myth: Pumps are too expensive. I’m afraid my child will accidently break it.Reality: It’s hard to place a price tag on improved glycemic control and prevention of diabetic complications, but Medtronic works hard to make it affordable for all people with diabetes. Medtronic also provides all pump purchasers a no-hassle product warranty that protects them against malfunction.

Myth: Inserting an infusion set and having a needle always stuck into my child will hurt and cause infection.Reality: Inserting an infusion set needle feels about the same as inserting an ordinary syringe needle. Fortunately, no needle remains in your child (unless you are using Sure-T®). Instead, a small flexible tubing called a cannula helps to deliver the insulin right under the skin. After a couple days, your child will usually not even notice the infusion set is there. If proper cleaning techniques are followed and the infusion set is changed every 2-3 days, infections are not common.

Myth: My child must be in good diabetes control (have a normal A1C) before starting a pump.Reality: Good diabetes control is often hard to achieve with injections. Having the motivation to control diabetes is more important. If families are motivated to achieve better control, the child usually does great on pump therapy, regardless of their current A1c.

Myth: My child can now eat anything they want.Reality: While it is true that using an insulin pump gives your child more flexibility in terms of when they can eat and the types of food they can enjoy, good nutrition is still key to avoiding weight gain and maintaining glucose control. With the help of your healthcare team, you can help your child on a pump incorporate their favorite foods within their eating plan.

Myth: Even though my child is good with computers, I don’t think he should get a pump because I won’t be able to understand the technology.Reality: Helping your child to successfully manage their glucose with a pump is often as easy as entering the blood sugar and meal information—then pressing enter. Your child’s pump will even do the work of keeping track of insulin, so there’s no need to write anything down.